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The Envy of Angels: Cathedral Schools and Social Ideals in Medieval Europe, 950-1200
Before the rise of universities, cathedral schools educated students in a course of studies aimed at perfecting their physical presence, their manners, and their eloquence. The formula of cathedral schools was "letters and manners" ( litterae et mores ), which asserts a pedagogic program as broad as the modern "letters and science." The main instrument of what C. Stephen Jaeger calls "charismatic pedagogy" was the master's personality, his physical presence radiating a transforming force to his students. In The Envy of Angels , Jaeger explores this intriguing chapter in the history of ideas and higher learning and opens a new view of intellectual and social life in eleventh- and early twelfth-century Europe.
544 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 16, 2022
Much of this, unfortunately, went over my head, but what I did get was pretty good, this is a well researched treatise on (a history of) Education built on Socrates but because we are discussing quite early history, education went hand in hand with religion and thus Christ had to be included. It's not an easy read therefore I advise much patience.
I can't say I can agree with everything, the author presents an early social idea of the student emulating his teacher thoroughly, from mental to physical, from thinking in the same (even incorrect) way to using one's body in the same way.
He puts the Body at the centre of this cult of charisma because the body, the body of a Teacher should be glorified by the student beyond any representation of the Self .
"The mind
and soul of Socrates and Christ are certainly the more precious parts, but
the impact on students, disciples, and lovers is inseparable from the unique
physical presence. The effect of the master is deepest and most abiding
when the charismatic body is tortured, mutilated, destroyed. The love of
the living master may be a strong inducement to live according to his
model; his martyrdom is stronger yet. The elegance of Socrates's death and
the agony of Christ's had equally wrenching impacts on their followers.
These masters' deaths by violence established their cult as much as did their
teaching. The tragic demise in each case laid foundations deep in the souls
of the disciples, cemented them in place with an emotional force beyond
tragedy, a force far more lasting than anything as comparatively trivial as
knowledge and understanding."
He goes on to argue that it is The Body that is the envy of angels, who are trapped into an existence of 'eternal goodness' that needn't change, as opposed to Humans whose bodies are transmuted through lifelong heroic struggles against temptation and vice (like Christ). But angelic existence is stagnant, frozen in a state of everlasting spirituality, they can never become physical presence, and they long for the state that is denied to them.
“Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
― Homer, The Iliad
Here's why 3 stars: Jaeger computes that the condition of being human requires Individuality which is a messy, but Necessary affair, yet he himself still advocates for the student to renounce the Self (with its individual talents, physical pains and flaws) in favour of the Teacher's Self, to absorb their entire physical being, gestures, posture, voice cadence and thought process even if it is obviously wrong.
Which is preposterous, to say the least.
I can't say I can agree with everything, the author presents an early social idea of the student emulating his teacher thoroughly, from mental to physical, from thinking in the same (even incorrect) way to using one's body in the same way.
He puts the Body at the centre of this cult of charisma because the body, the body of a Teacher should be glorified by the student beyond any representation of the Self .
"The mind
and soul of Socrates and Christ are certainly the more precious parts, but
the impact on students, disciples, and lovers is inseparable from the unique
physical presence. The effect of the master is deepest and most abiding
when the charismatic body is tortured, mutilated, destroyed. The love of
the living master may be a strong inducement to live according to his
model; his martyrdom is stronger yet. The elegance of Socrates's death and
the agony of Christ's had equally wrenching impacts on their followers.
These masters' deaths by violence established their cult as much as did their
teaching. The tragic demise in each case laid foundations deep in the souls
of the disciples, cemented them in place with an emotional force beyond
tragedy, a force far more lasting than anything as comparatively trivial as
knowledge and understanding."
He goes on to argue that it is The Body that is the envy of angels, who are trapped into an existence of 'eternal goodness' that needn't change, as opposed to Humans whose bodies are transmuted through lifelong heroic struggles against temptation and vice (like Christ). But angelic existence is stagnant, frozen in a state of everlasting spirituality, they can never become physical presence, and they long for the state that is denied to them.
“Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
― Homer, The Iliad
Here's why 3 stars: Jaeger computes that the condition of being human requires Individuality which is a messy, but Necessary affair, yet he himself still advocates for the student to renounce the Self (with its individual talents, physical pains and flaws) in favour of the Teacher's Self, to absorb their entire physical being, gestures, posture, voice cadence and thought process even if it is obviously wrong.
Which is preposterous, to say the least.
April 7, 2025
The main text is actually 375 pages, the rest being notes and bibliography.
It is a thorough solid read. Well researched. before the internet, when I bought the book, I had to refer to my Latin dictionary to help me through a few phrases and references.
It is a thorough solid read. Well researched. before the internet, when I bought the book, I had to refer to my Latin dictionary to help me through a few phrases and references.
March 4, 2023
This is a very impressive work of historical reconstruction, examining medieval education before the emergence of the schools. Since that is a period with very little documentation, Jaeger's detective work is all the more impressive.
This is serious history, not light reading (a little Latin is useful to get the most out of it), but that is as it should be for genuinely groundbreaking scholarship.
The picture he gives us - one of education centering on manners and morals, learned through imitation of beloved teachers in cathedral schools, valuing eloquence and poetry, is very different indeed to the patterns of learning that were made common by the emerging universities, or indeed to the Carolingian models that preceded it.
For me, it was especially eye-opening as it helps understand the work of some the great medieval theologians - particularly Anselm, with his intense friendship and camaraderie, his deep reflection on a few texts, and Bernard, who managed to simultaneously reject and to embody most of the ideals of this sort of education. These mem came at the end of this period, but they were profoundly shaped by it.
More broadly, it fits with Jaeger's broader work showing the way manners and civility emerged in medieval Europe, a key point in the emergence of Western culture.
This is serious history, not light reading (a little Latin is useful to get the most out of it), but that is as it should be for genuinely groundbreaking scholarship.
The picture he gives us - one of education centering on manners and morals, learned through imitation of beloved teachers in cathedral schools, valuing eloquence and poetry, is very different indeed to the patterns of learning that were made common by the emerging universities, or indeed to the Carolingian models that preceded it.
For me, it was especially eye-opening as it helps understand the work of some the great medieval theologians - particularly Anselm, with his intense friendship and camaraderie, his deep reflection on a few texts, and Bernard, who managed to simultaneously reject and to embody most of the ideals of this sort of education. These mem came at the end of this period, but they were profoundly shaped by it.
More broadly, it fits with Jaeger's broader work showing the way manners and civility emerged in medieval Europe, a key point in the emergence of Western culture.
March 2, 2008
I must hand it to Mr. Jaeger for making a dreadfully boring subject actually quite tolerable. Summaries of his argument can easily be found on amazon.com or any other seller of this book; and in any case I lack the energy to provide my own. Opinions and impressions are what I'm interested in conveying here. As a work of history, "Envy of Angels" succeeds marvelously. It not only draws upon vast empirical evidence, but provides what was already known about the subject with a new, fascinating, and very clever interpretation. I am not well-versed enough in medieval history to critique its particulars, but Jaeger's argument is one that inspires the burgeoning historian to apply similar interpretative frameworks to different areas of study: finding new meaning in old texts, drawing together lines of inference to make new arguments, and, not least, shedding new light on periods that have been overshadowed by others. All of these attributes I have listed are ambivalent and somewhat nebulous; intentionally so. If you are interested in discovering just what I mean, read a survey of the Middle Ages for background, and then delve into Jaeger's fascinating argumentation. But have several cups of coffee on hand; it weighs in at nearly 400 pages.
March 25, 2019
Jaeger argues that the "cultus virtutum", in European medieval education, shifted from being incarnate to textual from the 10th to the 12th century. In other words, the cult of virtue moved from teachers to texts across western Europe during this time. Jaeger presents this valuing of the virtue found in texts as if the phenomena were medicinal, treating the corruption of individuals' virtues.
Jaeger quotes an extensive amount of primary sources, which helps to make his book the excellent historical analysis it is. He appears meandering at times, but then has the remarkable ability to collapse his observations into a forceful conclusion. I think the final chapter, on "court society", is difficult. While interesting, it does not seem to fit the rest of the book, rather, it seems to be a general extension of the thesis. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading this.
Jaeger quotes an extensive amount of primary sources, which helps to make his book the excellent historical analysis it is. He appears meandering at times, but then has the remarkable ability to collapse his observations into a forceful conclusion. I think the final chapter, on "court society", is difficult. While interesting, it does not seem to fit the rest of the book, rather, it seems to be a general extension of the thesis. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading this.
November 16, 2021
Requires dedication.
February 21, 2010
A close look at education around the year 1000. Very interesting and helpful, especially if you are interested in "reviving" classical education.
One of the key ideas in the cathedral schools is embodying your teacher. Education is not just about intellectual truth (as those shortly after the cathedral schools asserted), education is about becoming everything your teacher is, whether his knowledge, his manners, his walk, his tone of voice, etc. This was true to such an extent that even if your teacher is "wrong," you still accept what he has, because education is not about the mind, so much as about the body (which is, by the way, the envy of angels).
One of the key ideas in the cathedral schools is embodying your teacher. Education is not just about intellectual truth (as those shortly after the cathedral schools asserted), education is about becoming everything your teacher is, whether his knowledge, his manners, his walk, his tone of voice, etc. This was true to such an extent that even if your teacher is "wrong," you still accept what he has, because education is not about the mind, so much as about the body (which is, by the way, the envy of angels).
May 12, 2016
As a scholarly work, The Envy of Angels is very good. Jaeger provides mounds of quotations from primary sources to substantiate his claims. And, considering the subject matter, he does a decent job making it interesting. Nevertheless, unless you're a scholar interested in education during the middle ages, you will find this book difficult to read. For the average reader, Jaeger provides too much textual evidence to support his claims. I wish he moved quicker. I also wish the book was organized better. Jaeger jumps around quite a bit.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews